Boyd Matheson has been an incredible advocate for One Kind Act a Day. His unwavering support, infused with genuine passion, wisdom, and energy, mirrors the same dedication he brings to his role at Inside Sources on KSL Radio.

In this opinion piece, Boyd offers a powerful reminder of what’s needed from the people of the United States in the aftermath of a presidential election cycle. Although we won’t face another presidential election for a few years, his insights serve as a timeless call to action that resonates beyond national elections and applies equally to every cycle—federal, state, or local.

It’s not the outcome of election day that defines us; it’s what we do the day after that truly matters. Will we embrace the results of our democratic process with grace? Will we come together, roll up our sleeves, and work toward the common good? I believe we can—and should.

Let’s commit to adopting this mindset from here on, and perhaps, we could approach the days leading up to each election with that same grace and mutual respect.

This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

The first Tuesday of November is nearly upon us. The 2024 election is all but over – though many races will take days, if not weeks, to conclude and certify. The country can soon collectively exhale. An exhausted and exasperated nation will soon wake up to… Wednesday morning. As critical as the first Tuesday of November is, America is always driven forward by the first Wednesday of November.

The drive to the first Tuesday of November — with its focus on power and control, winners and losers — distracts us from more important conversations and more pressing problems in America. Both sides of the political aisle have breathlessly declared that if the evil, awful enemies in the other party win the election and assume control, Armageddon will ensue, Grandma will be pushed off the cliff and our children will be doomed to destruction.

That has never proven to be the case in America.

Wednesday morning always comes in America. It is once again time for a Wednesday morning moment.

That first Wednesday of November morning

For the past three presidential election cycles, I have attempted to draw attention to the first Wednesday of November – knowing that the answers to what ails the nation are not to be found in Washington, but in our homes and neighborhoods.

On Wednesday morning, citizens in towns and cities across the country are going to go to work, providing for loved ones, starting businesses, getting children to school, helping a neighbor in need, volunteering in their community, reaching out to struggling friends and engaging in the very free market economy and institutions of civil society that has driven American freedom for over two centuries.

It is as though the politically-obsessed have lost their knowledge of history.

The country has survived fierce division and hotly contested elections in the past. And despite the noisy and negative chatter and clamor of flailing political consultants and media experts – Wednesday morning always comes – and the country moves on.

How a Halloween party mixes with Wednesday morning

This past week I found myself at a neighborhood Halloween Party. In a matter of minutes, a gymnasium was decorated, food laid out, teenagers people set up face-painting and games for little children, adults decorated cars, and balloons and treats were distributed in great abundance. I watched old and young, single, married, divorced, with kids and without all come together for food, fun, laughter and meaningful conversation.

Less than two hours later, the building and surroundings were amazingly spotless, chairs and tables gone, trash disappeared, doors locked and lights out. The power of gathering and what a community can do together had come and gone in less than 120 minutes.

In the midst of it all a neighbor, with some worry and stress, expressed concern about what the Tuesday election might bring. I shared my hope and confidence that all would be well in the end.

When my neighbor asked about the source of that confidence I said, “Look around this room. What you are watching at this neighborhood gathering is the core and crux of the soul of America and why I remain confident that our best days as a nation are yet to come. Community and culture lead, politicians will follow. What happened here in our little neighborhood is happening in communities around this state and across this country – the good of the people and their desire to gather are our best justification for hope.”

Why tell this tale of a community Halloween gathering leading into the Election on the First Tuesday of November? Because it is the essence of a Wednesday morning moment!

In fact, American history is filled with ‘Wednesday morning’ moments

Following great wars, social strife, scandals at the highest levels of government, 9/11, riots, mass shootings and contested elections – Wednesday morning has always come – and it comes because the American people make it come with confidence in each other and a belief in better days.

Despite the constant drumbeat bemoaning a deeply divided and angry America, I remain convinced that the American people are starving for elevated dialogue, searching for inspiring ideas and striving to find hope in heroes and heroines worthy of emulation. As always, a look back at history provides a clear vision of what is needed for a 2024 version of the “Wednesday morning moment”.

Thomas Jefferson was a compelling and complex, inspired and flawed human – as all of us are. He was a slave owner and he also provided words and leadership that compelled Americans toward building bridges of unity, harmony and opportunity. His first inaugural address is instructive in our divisive and turmoil-ridden time.

President Jefferson won an election so nasty and contentious that many feared that the election was going to lead to riots, rebellion, or even another revolution. In a sign of humility and as a signal to national unity, Jefferson entered the Senate chamber of the Capitol that day dressed as an ordinary citizen. Washington and Adams had both worn ceremonial swords as they took the oath of office – Jefferson left the sword at home.

Jefferson said, “All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, … Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind.”

Unity is not found in conformity. Jefferson recognized that oneness was not sameness in America and that the fledgling constitutional republic was dependent on people with big, audacious aspirations and solutions competing in the marketplace of ideas.

More debate, not less, was the indispensable ingredient for freedom and liberty to flourish. He knew that oneness was found in a Wednesday morning approach to all that united the nation and what would be discovered within the integrity of compromise. Jefferson eloquently declared to the people that “every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.”

Leave your swords at home

To honor the first Wednesday of November we too should leave our “virtual swords” at home.

We should lay down our social media-rants and verbal assault weapons. We must stop demonizing those with differing opinions or question the patriotism of those whose approach to policy or progress is contrary to our own.

The American Civil War was an extended “Tuesday test” for the country. America was divided, the fabric of society was tattered and the future of the nation seemed to hang by a thread.

On a singular “Wednesday morning moment” on a battlefield at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln challenged the living to step boldly and nobly into a new day.

We often quote and rightly reference Lincoln’s address when we honor those who have paid the ultimate price while standing for the principles of freedom. We note that the honored dead, “gave the last full measure of devotion.”

We often miss, however, Lincoln’s powerful and immediate pivot to the future – to us. In the crescendo and cadence of freedom, he called on our better angels, saying it is “for us the living,” that “we be here dedicated,” that “we take increased devotion” and above all, that “we here highly resolve!”

Lincoln recognized that those he honored on that extraordinary “Wednesday morning moment” had already paid the price, done their part, and passed their test. He knew the real question was a question for the ages – whether each of us would be highly resolved to do our duty on our own “Wednesday mornings.”

The commitment to Wednesday mornings

The question of our commitment to “Wednesday morning” is simple. As Lincoln asked – will we take increased devotion to the principles that have fostered the greatest civilization the world has ever known? Will we be so dedicated to the unfinished work and the task before us? Will we be as highly resolved to the cause of freedom as those who have gone before? Our answers to these questions will have profound consequences for our country.

Our communities need more highly resolved women and men who care about creating better neighborhoods and a better nation.

This week America will once again arrive at the first Tuesday of November – Election Day.

If you haven’t already, vote – that is both a sacred privilege and an honor of being a citizen of our constitutional republic in the United States of America.

Then, regardless of whether our candidates or causes prevail this week, on the first Tuesday of November in 2024, we can be thankful for that ultimate right to raise our voices and vote our values.

After the votes are counted and the victors declared we should remember that the real strength of the nation lies in its people, its neighborhoods, its homes and its families.

That is why in America – Wednesday morning always comes. It will come this week. Together we can make sure that Wednesday morning in America continues for generations to come.

Boyd Matheson is the host of Inside Sources on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.